BEGIN A NEW LIFE

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then at the right time and place He created you.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' (Acts 17:24-28)

Christianity is not just a religion; True Christians experience a deep personal relationship with the Creator God of the universe. All other religions of the world have one thing in common they are attempting to reach God by their own efforts and traditions. Only the God of the Bible reaches out to people in love. He has provided a way for you to be united with Him. The way is through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus says to you, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Jesus the Christ is the only true path for unity with God. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

PRAYERS FOR CLASSMATE

Please add Wayne Ashcroft to your prayer list. He found out that he has to go on insulin for his diabetes. Plus something is wrong with his liver, so he had to have a liver scan. The liver scan showed everything is ok...no fatty liver or damage. They tested for all types of hepatitis...all negative. He was taken off of 3 other meds. He goes back n 4 weeks. Hopefully, all levels will be stabilized. We appreciated your prayers!

Love in Christ, Melody Ashworth

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

In the 6th chapter of Ephesians in the 18th verse we read words which put the tremendous importance of prayer with startling and overwhelming force:
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
When we stop to weigh the meaning of these words, then note the connection in which they are found, the intelligent child of God is driven to say,
“I must pray, pray, pray. I must put all my energy and all my heart into prayer. Whatever else I do, I must pray.”
The Revised Version is, if possible, stronger than the Authorized:
“With all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
Note the alls: “with all prayer,” “at all seasons,” “in all perseverance,” “for all the saints.” Note the piling up of strong words, “prayer,” “supplication,” “perseverance.” Note once more the strong expression, “watching thereunto,” more literally, “being sleepless thereunto.” Paul realized the natural slothfulness of man, and especially his natural slothfulness in prayer. How seldom we pray things through! How often the church and the individual get right up to the verge of a great blessing in prayer and just then let go, get drowsy, quit. I wish that these words “being sleepless unto prayer” might burn into our hearts. I wish the whole verse might burn into our hearts.
Torrey, R. A. (1900). How to pray (6). Chicago; New York [etc.: Fleming H. Revell company.

COST OF FOLLOWING CHRIST

We read in Romans 1:20 that there is enough evidence to convince everyone that God is Creator, so much so that we are condemned if we do not believe. Then why do only a few people follow Christ for a lifetime? Why do some appear to follow for a time and then fall away? What prevents us from following Jesus wholeheartedly? Why do many of us prefer to build on the sand rather than the rock?
It can't be that we don't know about Him. With all the technology available today, the archaeological research confirming the people and places of the Bible, the immense volumes of writings of believers explaining their faith, and the exegetical study of the words of the Bible - it's as if we know so much, yet believe so little.

Many today respond to Jesus with a lack of commitment. They believe with their mind, but not their heart. They are skeptical about who He is. They are not willing to give up themselves to follow him. They are willing to follow some of His commands, but not willing to sacrifice their own needs or wants. Many prefer to  hold on to parents/children, money, siblings, jobs, or material items.

Whose goals and aspirations direct your daily living? God's or your own carnal, self-centered desires? If today is the day for God to judge how youv'e spent his money, lived your life, and spread his word, are you prepared for the verdict? Many people will stand before God's throne someday and say, "Lord, in You name we cast out devils, we healed the sick, we did many wonderful works for You." But they built their houses on sand. They're actions did not match up with their words, they said one thing in public and lived their lives in greed and materialism. They cried, "Lord, Lord!" throughout their lives - coming to Him for relief, for power, and for rewards. They were busy for Him, they gave money for someone else to do his works and filled themselves with a false sense of "having done their part" but they never stopped long enough in His presence to really get to know Him.
They never understood that he wanted them, not their money, advise, or stuff. Just them filled with a love that flows from a totally abandoned heart.                                             

WHATS IN A NAME?

"Here we are in a month named after the Roman god Janus, a personification of the start of the new year. This particular Roman god had two faces so that he could look ahead toward the future and back at the past at the same time. As we get rid of an old year and look forward to a new one, some like to worry. a few try to be a little like Janus. We know through experience what we did wrong and what we did right, and hope to do better this year.

 Some people make ambitious new year’s resolutions; others just take a deep breath and hope for the best. 

As Christians, we realize that hope is only available by faith in Jesus Christ. We draw closer to him through his word, prayer, and obedience. We were created in his image, and our thoughts and works should reflect just that and not some Roman god or other idol. So to address the question,"WHAT'S IN A NAME?", the answer is "not much", unless it's the name of Jesus.

So as Christians, our new years resolutions should never take the place of prayer and both should always be focused on Him.

Praise Be To God in January 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR